The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons

 The Air Raid Book Club

 by Annie Lyons


The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons 

was published on 11th July 2023 by Headline Review.

 My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review

 and to Random Book Tours for inviting me to take part on the tour.




Synopsis

An emotional and uplifting novel set in WW2 London about the remarkable power of books to bring hope and light in dark times, inspired by true events, from the USA Today bestselling author.

As the bombs began to fall, the book club kept their hopes alive...

The most emotional, uplifting and captivating story of wartime London and the extraordinary power of books to shine a light and draw people together in the darkest of days, inspired by true events.

London, 1938. Bookseller Gertie Bingham is facing difficult times, having just lost her beloved husband, Harry, and with a lingering sadness at never having been able to have
a child of her own. Struggling to face running the bookshop she and Harry opened together, Gertie is preparing to sell up and move away when she is asked if she would be willing to take in a young Jewish refugee from Germany. Gertie is unsure and when sullen teenager Hedy Fischer arrives, Gertie fears she has nothing left to give the troubled girl.

But when the German bombers come and the lights go out over London, Gertie and Hedy realise that joining forces will make them stronger, and that books have the power to bring young and old together and unite a community in need in its darkest hour...

*Annie Lyons was shortlisted for the RNA Contemporary Romantic Novel of the Year Award*




My Review


This has to be one of the loveliest and most moving books I have read this year and one that I will keep on my bookshelf to read again in the future. I absolutely love the setting of the book shop and how it comes to be a place of sanctuary where people of all ages could escape from the horrors that they were living through in many senses of the word.

There were so many times when I was moved to tears by the genuine love and care of humanity pitted against the cruelty and destruction of war. Annie describes her characters in such a way that you feel as though you know each and every one of them personally, feeling their love and losses as they progress throughout the war and enduring all that they go through. It also epitomises the strength and resilience of many who, though they didn't fight on the front line , they kept the home fires burning through their stoicism, grit and determination.

One aspect that I found really special and very thought provoking was the use of quotes from classic books at the beginning of each chapter  which gave you an insight into the feelings that were going to follow. This was a very clever idea which worked on so many levels and especially creating the picture of the books within the shop.

You will need tissues as you read this wonderful story of love and friendship and how these two attributes can heal some of the tragedies that were encountered by so many.

A huge 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 from me and one that I will be recommending to all my book loving friends to read. On another note I also think that this would make an excellent film and would be on a par with the  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society



About the Author



After a career in bookselling and publishing, Annie Lyons became an author.

When not working on her novels, she teaches creative writing.

She lives in south-east London with her husband and two children and puppy, Nelson.

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